Tinsel and Tulle, Wreaths and Ribbons
by Annamae Tezuka
Summary: To the party's dismay, Norma's creative streak continues! The Halloween costumes were a masterpiece, the Thanksgiving ones ingeniousnow, she's going all out for Christmas!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, this is a belated Christmas fic. Please enjoy despite the late posting!

Will's living room was packed; with eight people and three Oresoren, its comfortable range of capacity was in danger of being exceeded. Norma's hogging of one of the couches, combined with the fact that nobody would stand within five feet of Moses, who appeared to have not bathed in an excruciatingly long time, did nothing to help the matter. All was silent as relaxation was attempted, though periodically interrupted by a particularly loud scratch from Norma, who was writing on a piece of paper. The Scallop Brothers had arranged themselves around Jay, who was placidly sitting in a corner. It was the last day before the holiday rush went into full swing, and they were resting accordingly for preparation.

"All right!" Norma yelled suddenly, leaping from the couch, "I'm all set!"

"All set for what?" Senel asked.

"My Christmas costumes!" Norma chirped.

"No!" Jay yelled loudly, standing up and startling the Oresoren, who took a good three steps away from the source of the sudden noise; his outburst was mirrored by Moses and a few of the others.

"Yes," Norma grinned. "I know, you're so excited to see what I've got for you now, huh, JJ?"

"Quite the opposite," Jay spat, "I'm not dressing up in whatever you have for me."

"Oh, you will," Norma smirked craftily. She walked over to a corner of Will's house, where a stack of all-too-familiar bags were waiting.

"Oooh, that looks like fun!" Grune commented, following Norma.

"I have the sudden urge to incinerate those bags," Jay muttered darkly, sitting down again. The Oresoren returned to their positions around him.

"Oh, guys?" floated Norma's voice from her corner, "I need you to leave the house, kay?"

"And why is that?" Jay asked skeptically.

"So I can surprise you!" Norma grinned.

Jay crossed his arms. "Certainly not," he snapped.

"Aw, c'mon JJ, you're so mean!" Norma whimpered.

"You've humiliated me twice. Is that not enough for you?" Jay demanded.

"JJ, you're so mean!" Norma said again, then added in a low voice, "Twice? I'm just getting started!"

"Jay, just adhere to her demands, as…insane as they may be," Will sighed. "There's no way we can talk her out of it, nor is there no good reason to deny her request."

"Says you, you didn't wear a dress," Jay grumbled.

Moses sauntered over to Jay, having been given the order to get him up by Will. He came within earshot of Jay's grumbling in time to hear Jay's comment about the dress. Breaking into a large grin, he walked through the Oresoren, who parted for him, and knelt down next to Jay, his mouth next to the shorter boy's ear.

"So you're saying you want to stay here and oversee your new gown, Princess Jay?" he whispered.

Jay's eyes took a form that was unusual to them. His expressions were generally calm and rational, with relaxed yet sharp eyes, or narrowed with annoyance or some similar emotion. Now, they were round with surprise, reacting to a comment they hadn't expected. The surprise was quickly forgotten, and the purple disks reverted to their annoyed form.

"Of course not, stupid bandit," he snarled in the bandit's face, "and don't call me a princess!"

"Whatever you say, Princess," Moses taunted.

Jay sighed in exasperation. Again the Oresoren scattered as he stood up, this time following him as he made for the front door. "As much as I would rather not let Norma make another humiliating outfit to force me into, right now he," he gestured to Moses, "is driving me insane."

"Thank you, JJ!" Norma smiled sweetly as Jay stormed out of the house, tailed by the Oresoren.

"We should get going, too," Will advised. To this, everyone except for Norma and Grune rose, following Jay's scallop-adorned procession out of the house.

"Hehehe…" Norma cackled, "G-girl, let's get to work!"

Outside the house, Jay and the Oresoren were patiently waiting. Jay's face still had a sour look to it, having been coerced—by Moses, of all people—to leave Norma alone, where she could freely manipulate his dignity.

"What should we do now?" Senel questioned, seeing that there would be no point to merely standing around.

"We could help out some of the townspeople with decorating," Will suggested.

"I was thinkin' we could play a game," Moses grinned. "Y'know, like tag, or hide-and-seek."

"What kind of an idea is that?" Jay snorted.

"The kind I'm gonna force ya' into," Moses snapped, adding in a low voice that only Jay could hear, "Unless, of course, you'd like to be Princess Jay for the rest of the day?"

Jay said nothing, leaving it to his glare that was as sharp as several daggers to convey his message of "I hate you so much right now".

"Moses, I think you're the only one who favors playing games," Chloe commented, "Norma and Grune would probably be on your side, but they're working on more costumes." The last two words came out with a hint of exasperation.

"Actually, I think it might be fun," Shirley smiled.

Again, Jay said nothing, relying on looks to convey "Please don't encourage him. I'm begging you, don't do it".

"Thanks, Shirley, that's sweet of ya' to take my side," Moses grinned, ignoring Jay's obvious displeasure.

"Well, if Shirley wants to," Senel said, "I guess I'll agree, too."

"Me, too," Chloe said.

"Do we have a majority?" Moses asked excitedly.

"No, it's four against five," Pippo counted, "Though I kinda wanna play…"

"Yeah…" Poppo agreed.

"It does sound a little fun," Quppo admitted.

All three looked apologetically at Jay, who shrugged his shoulders. "I can't stop you," he sighed. Seeing the Oresoren look down in guilt, he added quickly, "I won't be mad, don't worry."

"Thanks, Jay!" all three chirped happily.

"Will, Jay, are you gonna play?" Moses questioned.

"Well, I don't know if I'm up to it," Will started.

"Come on, Raynard, it'll be fun!" Chloe pressed.

"Oh, alright, I'll play," Will conceded.

"Jay, it's all about you, now," Moses grinned, "I need a clear answer: will you play or won't you?"

"I'd rather not," Jay said.

"I'd rather you did," Moses pushed.

"I'd still rather not."

Moses strode over to Jay, smirking as he began his favorite method of provocation. "Afraid your gown will get dirty, Princess Jay?"

"Oh, would you stop with that?"

"Why should I, Princess Jay?"

"Moses, stop calling me that. It's irritating, especially coming from you."

"Princess Jay, Princess Jay, Princess Jay," Moses taunted.

"If I agree to play your pointless games, will you stop that?" Jay asked.

"Sure," Moses nodded, "I promise."

Jay sighed in resignation. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he grumbled.

"Awrite! All of us are playin' now!" Moses whooped. "What first, tag or hide-and-seek?"

"You're the one that decided we were doing this," Jay sighed. "Choose the one that's less humiliating."

"Tag it is, then!" Moses smiled. He softly punched Jay on the shoulder. "Tag, you're it!"

Instantly the rest of the group scattered, running as fast as they could in different directions.

"You've got to be kidding me," Jay groaned. Feeling a sudden urge to tag Moses right back, he sprinted off after the bandit. His speed was such in proportion to Moses' that the chase was rather pathetic; it was as though a cheetah was chasing a snail.

"You're it, stupid bandit," Jay smirked, poking the bandit on his bare back before sprinting off.

"Why you--!" Moses exclaimed in surprise. "Someone's enjoying this," he said to himself before locating Chloe and heading towards her.


	2. Chapter 2

While a game of Werites Beacon Tag was being held outside, Norma and Grune did the surgical procedure that was costume making.

"G-girl, scissors!" Norma called, holding out her hand, which Grune gave the scissors to.

"G-girl, lace!" Norma's waiting hand was greeted by lace.

"Oh, this is coming along great, huh, G-girl?" Norma cackled, taking a moment from her surgical procedure to display her current patient.

"Oh, yes, it's very nice, whose is that?"

"It's two for two people, actually. I can't wait for them to try it on!"

The mad scientist known as Norma Beatty cackled again, and her lovely assistant Grune smiled along.

"G-girl, pink thread!"

A group of panting humans and Oresoren congregated around Will's house. Their game of tag had finally ended, after nearly an hour of straight running. Moses was the most exhausted; after Jay had tagged him, he had failed to pass the responsibilities of "it" on to anyone else.

"So…should…we…check…on…Norma?" Shirley panted.

"That's…a…good…idea…" Will said. Clutching a stitch in his side, he slowly made the way to his door, opening it.

"Are you…done, Norma?" he called.

"No! And don't come in! It'll ruin the surprise!" came Norma's voice.

"Alright, I won't," Will reassured her. He closed the door, shrugging to the others. "She's not done yet," he called.

"Oh, no," Jay moaned. "That cannot be good."

"It is good!" Moses reassured him. "Now we can play hide-and-seek!"

"Oh, no," Jay moaned again.

"Have fun playing," Poppo said.

"What, you're leaving?" Shirley asked.

"We have some things to take care of back at the Oresoren Village," Quppo told them.

"We're sorry, but we have to go," Pippo said.

Goodbyes were said, and the three Oresoren walked off, free of the ordeal that was hide-and-seek.

"So now it's just us," Jay said, resisting the urge to say, yet again, "oh, no".

"I volunteer to be it," Will said, "I'm not very good at hiding."

"Count to a minute—fifty seconds," Moses said.

Jay snorted. "A minute is sixty seconds, stupid bandit," he reprimanded loudly.

"Yeah, that's what I meant!" Moses blushed. "I was just, er, testin' ya, Jay. Seein' if you were still smart."

"I'll be smart so long as you're still dumb, it seems," Jay commented, "and that's forever."

"Why you--!" Moses growled.

"One," Will said, closing his eyes. Moses' anger was halted by the need to hide. Three Oresoren and seven humans sprinted off in various directions, searching for a hiding place in Werites Beacon.

"…fifty-nine, sixty!" Will finished. He looked around, searching for anyone who may have decided to lazily hide nearby. Finding no one, he sprinted off towards the main part of town.

From a tree overlooking one of Will's windows, Jay's eyes were like dull pinpricks in the shadows. Seeing that he had not been detected, he directed his attention to what was going on inside Will's house: costume making.

"Moses, come out of there, I found you," Will announced. He glared sternly at the poorly hidden bandit, who was futilely trying to hide under the table of the Dreaming Traveler.

"Aw, shoot," Moses lamented, banging his head on the table as he crawled out, "Was I the first one?"

"Yes, I only started looking five minutes ago, after all," Will sighed.

"Well, you found me, so now I have to help you," Moses shrugged. "Should we split up?"

"That's a good idea. You head back towards my house, and I'll go the other way. We'll meet around your camp," Will agreed.

Heading uptown, the two men split up at the path towards Will's house. With Moses on his way, and since he had the graveyard under his jurisdiction, Will decided to check the fountain plaza before heading eastward. Stepping through the throngs of people at the crowded center, he would have missed Shirley's blonde head had she not been standing, conveniently, in the one corner of the plaza that was usually gray with shade. Within moments, he strode over to her location, alerting her to the fact that she'd been found. With a second pair of eyes on his side, they began the eastern search for the remaining hiders: Senel, Chloe, and Jay. Splitting the work of the east side, one deciding to go through the streets where Berry and McKenzie's loving house lay, the other taking the long way, past Caroline and Carmela's homes, the pair began their search.

Meanwhile, Moses was walking past Will's house, which his instinct told him concealed someone; Will had, naturally, already checked here, but Moses wanted to make sure.

"Anyone here?" he called.

Up in the trees, Jay was perched on a branch, his breathing ever so slightly audible. He had not expected the bandit's approach, and had been spying on Norma and Grune in what he considered their nefarious work. His efforts had produced a vexingly small amount of information; all that he could see was a disturbing sea of frilly, lacy, and otherwise potentially humiliating materials strewn about the furiously working figure of Norma; every so often, a new material or device, such as scissors or a threaded needle, was handed to Norma by Grune, who otherwise sat dreamily, admiring whatever it was Norma was creating. To his chagrin, just as Norma was moving, which would have given him a view of the costume she was working on, he had sensed the stupid bandit's presence coming towards him. Assuming that Moses had been found and was now on Will's side, Jay retreated to the trees, not wanting to give Moses the glory of finding him.

"Senel, you here?" Moses queried, examining the small garden.

"Chloe?" he asked, peeking around the house.

"Jay?" Jay's heart skipped a beat as the bandit looked up into the trees. A long silence passed, Jay fervently hoping that his pride was not about to be killed by the likes of the person below him. He saw Moses' eye squinting straight at him, and closed his eyes in preparation for his defeat.

"Hmmm…" Moses said.

_This is it_, Jay thought, teeth clenched, the embarrassment and annoyance already starting to take over.

"…Guess there's nobody here," finished the bandit. Jay's eyes snapped open in surprise. Did Moses truly not see him? His disbelief was conquered when he saw the bandit turn around and head back towards the street. His disguise had survived.

The exclamations of "Senel, I found you!" and "Found you, Coolidge!" simultaneously assailed Senel's ears. He raised his head, relieving his back from the ache of his position behind Madam Musette's fountain.

"So you two got found, too?" Senel noticed.

"Yeah, we're helping Will," Shirley told him, "Moses is checking out the other side of town."

"Meaning the only one that hasn't been found is Jay," Senel reasoned. Chuckling, he added, "That makes sense, though. He is Jay the Unseen; it'd be pretty pathetic if someone named "unseen" was found easily."

"We don't know if he's been found, though," Chloe pointed out.

"Somehow I doubt he'd let Moses find him, of all people," Senel countered.

"True," Chloe agreed.

"Let's head towards the bandit camp," Shirley interrupted. "We'll meet Will and Moses there."

The trio reached the northernmost tip of Werites Beacon, where the entrance to the bandit's camp was. They found Moses already there, waiting alone.

"Didn't find Jay?" Senel asked, although it was more of a statement than a question.

"Nope. I see you didn't either," Moses replied.

"Should we look around town again?" Chloe suggested.

"Maybe we should give up," Will said, coming up to them. "For all we know, he's been moving around town, evading us."

"And if he hasn't?" Shirley questioned.

"Either way, if we haven't already found him, there's a good chance we won't find him at all," Will reasoned, "Jay is the "unseen" after all."

"Yeah, we thought that, too," Senel nodded.

"So we're giving up?" Moses asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"Norma's probably about done with her costumes anyway," Will confirmed.

"Ah, right," Shirley said.

"Jay, we give up," Moses shouted. "C'mon out, I know you can hear us!"

To everyone's surprise, even Moses', Jay did indeed come out. He popped up in the midst of them, seemingly from nowhere.

"Jay!" Chloe exclaimed, once her shock of having someone suddenly behind her cleared.

"Where were you?" Senel asked.

Jay chuckled. "I was in the trees at Will's house," he told them.

"Now hold on jus' a minute!" Moses protested, "I looked in the trees!"

"You looked straight at me, but you didn't see me," Jay snorted.

"Man, they don't call ya the unseen for nothin'," Moses muttered, turning away from his friends in embarrassment.

"In any case," Will said, "the games are finished. Let's head back to my house; hopefully Norma's finished with the costumes by now."

"Hopefully she'll have ruined the costumes and lost hope in continuing," Jay corrected under his breath.


	3. Chapter 3

Agh! I'm sorry this is taking so long…this is utterly pathetic. I'm trying to finish it up as fast as I can, honestly! I should have the conclusion out sometime in the next week or so…damn school…

- - - - - - -

Will knocked on the door of his own home. "Norma, are you finished with your costumes?" he queried.

"You're just in time, we just finished!" Norma chirped.

"May we come in?"

"Whoa, hold on! The special containers still have to be made, and –" came Norma's voice, seeming delighted with its power over the ability of people to enter the house.

"Special containers?" Senel muttered incredulously, not liking the way that it sounded one bit.

"Norma, why do you need special containers?" Shirley queried, seeing her pseudo-brother's reaction.

"To keep the dresses nice and straight, to keep the little hats as neat as a plate," Grune sang through the door.

"Dresses?" Chloe asked shakily.

"Hats?" Moses blinked.

"I think she means the containers are for protecting…whatever may be in them," Jay reasoned.

"Don't forget the surprise!" Norma yelled.

"Oh, yes, they're for keeping the costumes a neat little secret, too!" Grune added.

"Secret? As in, we won't know what they are until Norma decides to tell us?" Senel groaned.

"I'm afraid so," Jay sighed.

A large crash sounded inside the house, followed by a series of strange noises, ranging from more crashes to bangs to a squeak. There was a moment of total silence, then a thunder-like rumble, which was identified as Norma running once she appeared, out of breath, opening the front door.

"All done!" Norma breathed.

"Norma…" Will started, his voice betraying the concern he felt for the state of his house.

"Nothing's broken, Teach, I promise!" Norma said reassuringly, answering the unsaid question. "I've stored the costumes in a very safe place, and there's no peeking until I say so!"

The following days until Christmas were not filled with nervous anticipation for the costumes, merely because there was too much to do in the meantime. Activities such as hanging lights and tinsel, decorating wreaths, baking cookies, and of course, acquiring and decorating a tree, were the main focus of much of everyone's time. Norma's costumes remained undisturbed until the fateful day arrived: Christmas Eve, the day that Norma and her friends would find themselves adorned by the mysterious works of fabric. Norma waited until the sun was beginning to slip over the horizon before she called her friends to Will's house.

"Everyone, it's costume time!" Norma grinned.

"Count me out," Jay snapped flatly.

"Sorry, this is mandatory," Norma smirked. "Besides, Red wouldn't look right if his matching counterpart wasn't here."

"What?!" Jay exclaimed.

"Matchin'…wha?" Moses said.

"JJ, Red, you two have matching costumes!" Norma explained.

"Why?!" Jay cried in humiliated agony.

"Because I said so, that's why," Norma smirked. She handed everyone their respective fateful bags, inevitably containing their costumes. "Let's all get ready!" she exclaimed.

"Why do we even have to wear the costumes? It's not like we have to go anywhere," Chloe said slowly. The words "go anywhere" seemed to echo in everyone's minds.

"Norma?" Will asked in a softly dangerous tone.

"What, Teach?" Norma asked nervously.

"What did you sign us all up for this time?"

"Ummm, let's see. I was too late for tonight's party, so I signed us up for the parade tomorrow, full shift."

"You're making us dress up in costume for an entire parade?!" Chloe yelled. "You could have at least told us this a little earlier!"

"I forgot!" Norma squeaked, cowering under the noise level of Chloe's shouts.

"Well, there's no backing out of it now, I'm sorry to say," Chloe sighed, her anger expressed.

"I'm very sorry to say that you're correct," Jay agreed. "It's nearly nightfall already. To cancel now would be extremely rude."

"Nah, it ain't rude unless we don' show up!" Moses interrupted. "I say we go tell them we can't do it!"

"I'm afraid you can't do that, Red," Norma said quietly, her voice turning ominous.

"Wha? Of course I can, Bubbles!" Moses retorted.

"I don't think you understand--which, since it's you, isn't so hard to believe—we're in a very grave situation," Norma continued in her ominous voice.

"Explain how it's grave, besides you signing us up to make fools of ourselves in costumes," Senel challenged.

Norma waved a hand at Grune. "G-girl, if you would, please?" she said.

"Oh, now what was I supposed to do?" Grune wondered, seeming not at all troubled that her duty had been forgotten.

"The lights, G-girl, the lights! You're supposed to turn off the lights!" Norma hissed loudly, so that her secret command was now public knowledge.

"Why the lights?" Shirley asked, curious.

"Oh, just adding to the drama," Norma smiled.

"Oh, yes, that's just what we need: more drama," Jay snapped sarcastically.

"That's the spirit, JJ!" Norma grinned.

"Oh, bother, can you at least show some respect for sarcasm?" Jay sighed.

"Who's this "Sarcasm" person?" Moses asked. In response, he only got an incredulous glare from Jay, informing him that his query had revealed what would be considered a deficiency in intellect.

"Moses," Jay started icily, "what is one plus one?"

"What? Why are you asking me that?" Moses asked.

"JJ, don't be mean, you know he doesn't know the answer to that!" Norma smirked. "Besides, the time it'll take him to think of any answer will carry us right on through New Year's, much less Christmas."

"In that case, maybe we should let him continue," Senel muttered, obviously showing a glimmer of hope that Norma's exaggerations would be true.

"It's two, isn't it?" Moses answered.

"Who told you that?" Norma demanded.

"Well, if I really needed to, I could have counted on my fingers, but I didn't. Bubbles, c'mon, that's common knowledge!"

"I must say, I'm impressed that "common knowledge" could ever apply to you," Jay said.

"In celebration, I will now present the costumes!" Norma announced.

"How exciting!" Grune smiled.

"I wonder what she made this time," Shirley thought aloud.

"Indeed, I wonder," Will replied.

"As long as nobody mistakes me for Moses again," Senel muttered.

"As long as it doesn't look too ridiculous," Chloe prayed, crossing her fingers.

"As long as she doesn't make me into an old man again," Will sighed.

"As long as it's nice looking," Shirley said.

"As long as it makes me look cool," Moses repeated, over and over.

"As long as—" Jay started, then stopped himself.

"As long as?" the rest of the group asked unanimously.

"As long as I'm not forced to unsheathe my dagger," Jay substituted evasively, keeping his original statement in his thoughts: "As long as I don't have to cross-dress again."

Long after the request was given, the lights were dimmed. A pathetic imitation of a dramatic, suspenseful fanfare came in the tone of Norma's voice. The fanfare grew louder, then stopped, replaced by Norma's speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Norma announced, "I give you…"

The lights flicked on, Grune at the controls. The completion of Norma's sentence was disregarded, as the pile of oddly shaped parcels and boxes were escorted from her arms to the floor.

"…the costumes!"

"We're a bunch of paper bags?" Senel guessed.

"I don't get it. Are we presents?" Shirley asked.

"No, these aren't the costumes," Norma said impatiently, "the costumes are inside! My present to you guys!" She pointed to the various parcels, which were found to have a name scrawled on each one.

"Why, thank you, Norma, this is very kind of you," Will said as kindly as he could, nervously taking his package. Anxiety led the throng of emotions driving the mad destruction of paper, revealing the fates Norma had prepared.

Senel had the honors of revealing his package first. Beyond the drab coverings was a brightly colored costume, a strange arrangement of fabrics sewed together in a mysterious fashion. It was obviously intended to be something; what that something was remained unknown to Senel's logic.

"Senny, you're a snowman!" Norma exclaimed proudly, identifying the strange fabric for what it represented. "Your hair's white, so you fit the bill perfectly!"

"Snowmen have faux fur collars?" Senel asked, "and buttons made out of velvet and black crystal?"

"The Senny Snowman does," Norma confirmed.

Will was the next to open his fateful package. From the small bundle, a shockingly large mass of white-trimmed red fabric exploded into his arms. It resembled a red Christmas bell, trimmed with white fur. An accompanying container contained a hat fashioned in the same red-and-white format, attached to a fancy cotton beard.

"Norma, you didn't," Will groaned, the costume's identity dawning on him.

"Santa Claus has come to town!" Norma quipped.

"I almost feel lucky…" Senel said.

"What was that?" Will asked dangerously.

"Nothing," Senel replied quickly.

Senel and Will went to try their costumes on, while Shirley, in sympathy for Senel, revealed a large, five-pronged, sparkle-drowned mass of gleaming yellow fabric, covered with tassels made of tulle, on which was patterned several small stars.

"I'm a star!" Shirley said, relieved that her costume was not as crazy as she'd feared.

"The star of the show," Chloe joked.

"She's the star, all right," Moses said.

"You're in a good mood, considering the threat of the costumes," Jay noted quietly.

"What was that, Jay?" Moses asked dangerously.

"Stop it, you two, you can't act like that if you're going to be a pair!" Norma yelled.

Jay turned slowly to face Norma, his eyes wide with a façade of surprise covering a large reserve of the look he gave when he intended death. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

"You and Red are part of a pair; your costumes go together," Norma said slowly, giggling at how she got to treat Jay like a toddler with low intelligence.

"Shirley and I are a half-pair!" Grune sang, revealing her costume of a large, generously decorated Christmas tree.

Chloe looked at Moses and Jay, who had frightening expressions written on their faces. Figuring that Norma would want to reveal her own costume last, and that the least blood would be shed if Moses and Jay didn't open their costumes until the last possible moment, she volunteered to open her present. Glitter exploded in her face when she cautiously undid the wrapping, enveloping her in a soft white mist.

"Wow, C, that's perfect!" Norma squealed.

"What's perfect?" Chloe asked, clearing glitter from her eyes.

"The way that the glitter's arranged! Your costume's perfect, now!"

"My costume?" For the first time, the glitter-drenched mass in Chloe's hands, which had sprayed her with glitter, manifested itself as a costume. It was extremely white, embroidered with a strange symmetrical design.

"I'm a snowflake," Chloe said, interrupting Norma before she could begin, "right?"

Looking a little crestfallen at being denied a chance for a speech, Norma nodded. Her solemnity was a fleeting moment, however; her eyes swept the room, crinkling into an unnaturally wide grin as they passed over Moses and Jay.

"Red, JJ," she started sweetly.

Jay rolled his eyes and sighed, making it clear that he knew and despised what was to come next. Moses, however, fell for the bait. "What, Bubbles?" he asked.

"Aren't you gonna open up your costumes?"

"Thanks a lot, stupid bandit," Jay hissed under his breath.

"Jay, for that, you open yer present, first," Moses yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Jay.

"I'd rather not, thank you," Jay said.

"Open them at the same time!" Norma begged. "After all, they're part of a pair—oops."

At the word "pair", Moses and Jay had struck Norma with powerful glances: Moses staring in disbelief, mild curiosity, and foreboding, Jay glaring with hatred, disgust, and an evident fear of what was within the packages.

"I'm experiencing an unimaginably strong temptation to stab this package with a dagger and set fire to it," Jay said icily.

"Well, I'm gonna take it like a man," Moses stated, proceeding to rip open his package. Within, deep navy-hued robes, sandals that looked as though woven from wicker, and a long reddish-brown faux beard revealed themselves.

"I'm a guy?" Moses asked.

"You're Joseph!" Norma corrected him.

"Norma, you can't possibly mean that I'm—" Jay started, the nature of his fate dawning on him in a horrible moment.

"Open it, JJ," Norma replied evasively, though conveying his answer through a wicked grin.

"I absolutely loathe you," Jay swore under his breath, reluctantly peeling back the wrapping on his package. With a smirk from Norma, he slowly lifted the deep maroon robes, cut into the fashion worn by women, and displayed them with anything but pride.

"Welcome to the party, Mary!" Norma grinned brightly.

"The party must be in hell," Jay retorted.

"No, this is heaven, JJ! Hell is much worse!" Norma told him.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Jay groaned.

"Norma," Will said, "aren't you going to unveil your costume now?"

"Not at all, Teach!" Norma said. "That's still a surprise, which will be revealed at the party."

"Oh!" Shirley exclaimed. "The party! It's going to start soon!"

"That it is, Shirl! Everyone, it's time to get suited up!"

"No words can describe the feelings boiling inside of me right now," Jay hissed dangerously.


	4. Epilogue

Short but sweet…it's finally done!

- - - - - - -

Among the confetti-strewn sidestreet, where the parade was assembling, a group of eight ostentatiously-costumed participants waited, having completed their parade preparations.

"This is embarrassing," Senel groaned.

"I agree," Chloe sighed.

"It's not that bad," Shirley said reassuringly.

"I have to disagree," Will said. "I've never felt older in my life."

"I've never felt more overdressed in my life," Moses complained in his robes, causing the others to turn and stare; compared to their predicaments, this seemed like a trifle.

"Everyone, stop complaining," Jay snapped. "Of all of us, I have the most right to; none of you are forced to cross dress, I see."

"Don't sound so upset! Your costume's good for ya!" Moses complimented.

"Would you shut up?" Jay demanded, obviously not accepting Moses' remark as a compliment.

"Now, now, you two, kiss and make up!" Norma grinned from behind the pair. "After all, you're under the mistletoe!"

Indeed, as Jay looked, horrified, at the girl behind him, the discovery was made that she was dressed in a rather leafy getup, a surprisingly accurate representation of mistletoe.

"See? Now, kiss!" Norma pushed.

"No, thank you," Jay snapped, taking a good few steps away from her.

Norma's petition for Moses and Jay to continue the mistletoe tradition was halted by the blare of the band, signaling the beginning of the parade. Hurriedly, the trio joined their friends at their position in the parade.

"After this, you owe each other a kiss," Norma hissed over the trumpets.

"I never thought I'd want this to go on forever," Jay hissed back.

"What's the legend of the mistletoe?" Moses asked.

Jay sighed. "As if it hasn't been long enough of a day; since when did Christmas become a never-ending hell?"

No more was said; the band's music filled the air as the procession began.


End file.
